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The Obi-Wan Kenobi show almost included a cameo from beloved Star Wars clone trooper Commander Cody, and it's genuinely a shame that didn't happen. Obi-Wan Kenobi was a fascinating addition to Star Wars movies and TV shows. Not only did the show reveal more about Obi-Wan's time on Tatooine, but also, it filled in some major gaps in the Star Wars timeline, among them why Leia sought Obi-Wan's help specifically in A New Hope when she was captured by Darth Vader.

Obi-Wan Kenobi also saw Obi-Wan and Darth Vader face off yet again and provided updates to Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader's Star Wars timeline. This included having Vader tell Obi-Wan he wasn't responsible for all that had happened in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, which was both surprising and profound. Obi-Wan Kenobi almost featured a storyline that would have made the show so much better,...

The Star Wars universe continues to expand, and now fans are getting an even deeper look into the lives of the Clone Troopers. Star Wars: The Secrets of the Clone Troopers, a new canon reference book from Insight Editions released on October 8, 2024, offers fresh insights into the galaxy’s most famous army.

This immersive, in-universe interactive book delves into the lore of the clone army, from their origins on Kamino to their pivotal role in Order 66. It spotlights fan-favorite clones like Captain Rex, Commander Cody, and Clone Force 99, with content from across the Star Wars films, series, comics, and more.

Featuring interactive elements like pop-ups, lift-the-flap inserts, original illustrations, and a poster, Star Wars: The Secrets of the Clone Troopers provides an engaging, immersive experience for young fans and collectors alike.

Notably, the book introduces the first confirmed trans woman clone trooper, known by the nickname “Sister,” adding a groundbreaking...

Juliette Lewis and Mamoudou Athie will lead the cast of the body swap film 'By Design'.The pair are on board to play the central roles in the indie flick that has been written and directed by Amanda Kramer.Other cast members in the movie – which has wrapped production in Los Angeles – including Samantha Mathis, Robin Tunney, Clifton Collins Jr., Udo Kier and Betty Buckley.Plot details haven't been disclosed but the picture is described as a twist on the body swap genre.Miranda Bailey and Natalie Whalen are producing for Cold Iron Pictures along with Sarah Winshall, Jacob Agger and Kramer.Juliette began her film career in the late 1980s and feels lucky to have worked together with some of the most talented figures in the industry.The 51-year-old star told Entertainment Tonight: "I really got fortunate early on. And I didn't know this at the time because people...

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After a decade of pushing to get the adaptation off the ground, Peter Dinklage's The Thicket is finally being realized. Based on Joe R. Lansdale's 2013 novel of the same name, the Game of Thrones alum first came onboard the adaptation in 2014 as both a star and producer, alongside Gianni Nunnari, Shannon Gaulding and Andre Lemmers. The movie wouldn't gain proper steam until 2020, when pre-production began with director Elliott Lester and stars Noomi Rapace, Charlie Plummer and Sophia Lillis, though the trio would be replaced due to scheduling conflicts after the movie was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dinklage would forge on ahead with the movie in 2023 with Yellowjackets' Juliette Lewis, Levon Hawke and Esm Creed-Miles filling in the roles of the previously cast trio. The Thicket is set in post-Civil War America, centering on an innocent young man named Jack,...

Juliette Lewis has a very good reason why her horseback ridings skills are so impressive in her new thriller, “The Thicket.”

“I’m a third-place ribbon barrel racer,” Lewis says on this week’s episode of “Just for Variety.” “I was an equestrian. I grew up riding horses before I was 12. So the first thing we did in Calgary [where the movie was shot in the dead of winter] was get on a horse. They wanted to check us out, how you rode. I got a very good rating with my horse riding.”

In the Elliott Lester-directed movie (in theaters Sept. 6), based on Joe R. Lansdale’s book of the same name, Lewis plays Cut Throat Bill, a violent hardened outlaw at the turn of the 20th century who kidnaps a young girl (Esmé Creed-Miles ). The girl’s brother (Levon Hawke) hires a bounty hunter (Peter Dinklage) to rescue his sister.

Cut Throat Bill, written in the original book as a man,...

This Star Wars article contains spoilers for The Bad Batch.

The premise of The Bad Batch has its roots in The Clone Wars animated series, where the central squad of mutant clones first made their debut, so it only makes sense that the spinoff would bring back some of our favorites from that era of Star Wars. So far, we’ve seen the return of Captain Rex in season one, with Commander Cody also recently popping up in season two. Now, this week’s episode of The Bad Batch, titled “Tribe,” brings back yet another Clone Wars character: the Wookiee Jedi padawan Gungi.

First introduced in season five of The Clone Wars, Gungi is one of the five Jedi younglings who went on a rite of passage to the planet Ilum, a sacred place where they must find kyber crystals to build their very first lightsabers, an important step on...

It's been a long road for The Deagol Brothers and their zombie romance flick, Make Out with Violence. Once again they're heading out into Afm to seek distro for their flick, which originally bounced onto the scene in 2009. Will they get lucky so we can get lucky? Let's hope so!

Make Out with Violence stars Eric Lehning, Cody DeVos, Leah High, Brett Miller, Tia Shearer, and Jordan Lehning.

Synopsis

The film tells the story of twin brothers Patrick and Carol Darling, newly graduated from high school and struggling to come to terms with the mysterious disappearance of their friend, the bright and beautiful Wendy Hearst. When a drive through the countryside surrounding their posh suburban community leads to the discovery of Wendy's mysteriously animated corpse, the boys secretly transport the zombie Wendy to an empty house in hopes of somehow bringing her back to life. As the sweltering summer pushes on,...

The Deagol Brothers are still seeking U.S. distro for their bizarre indie zombie film that played at the 2009 SXSW Film Festival. Below you'll find the latest piece of Afm art for Make-Out with Violence, an undead romance starring Eric Lehning, Cody DeVos, Leah High, Brett Miller, Tia Shearer, and Jordan Lehning. "The film tells the story of twin brothers Patrick and Carol Darling, newly graduated from high school and struggling to come to terms with the mysterious disappearance of their friend, the bright and beautiful Wendy Hearst. When a drive through the countryside surrounding their posh suburban community leads to the discovery of Wendy's mysteriously animated corpse, the boys secretly transport the zombie Wendy to an empty house in hopes of somehow bringing her back to life. As the sweltering summer pushes on, they must maintain the appearance of normalcy for their friends and family as they search for.

There's always that moment in zombie movies where one of the protagonists gets infected and his loved ones have to deal with the fact that someone they loved dearly is suddenly wants to eat their brains. But that's all it usually is, a moment. Then the heroes have to either man up and kill them or get eaten themselves. Festival circuit favorite "Make-Out With Violence," is like a 100-minute exploration of that moment. This is a zombie film turned inside out. Instead of following the typical arc of illness, epidemic, survival it uses that idea of someone coming back to life to tell a powerful story about loss and denial. You've never seen a zombie movie quite like this.

Make-Out With Violence

Directed by The Deagol Brothers

Tagline: Death Is the Present Tense

Tweetable Plot Synopsis: Twin brothers who've just graduated from high school find their friend who'd recently disappeared still alive.

[Editor's note: This has been running the fest circuit for the past year and just played at SXSW]

Year: 2008

Release date: Unknown

Directors: Deagol Brothers

Writers: Deagol Brothers & Cody DeVos & Eric Lehning

IMDb: link

Trailer: link

Review by: quietearth

Rating: 6 out of 10

Words and performance on the event horizon of a blackhole. That was the first few minutes, a whirlwind which traded places with something more cohesive, an ingenious little introduction (which involved odd little flashbacks) for each character and a taste of the rich white middle-American apple pie. And for all it's taste and inward teen deviance (or normality?), Make-Out With Violence is a great story which unfortunately holds a void I can't quite put my finger on. Is it the lack of proper character emoting? Was it something more twisted I desired? I'm still not sure, but I do know one thing: The Deagol brothers are definitely a pair to watch.

Suited with Wes Anderson style characters that looked a tad bit old for the part,...

SXSW is one of my favorite festivals of the year as it showcases some of the best and most innovative real independent films, and with this host of world premiers, it's also playing alot of Sundance material as well as genre fare from all over the world, many of which we've covered heavily in these pages.

From the Sundance lineup, we have films like Moon, The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle, You Won't Miss Me, Grace, and Humpday, among others.

For the world genre material we've covered, there's Lake Mungo, The Square, Zift, and Awaydays.

I think you get the point that lots of great looking film will be playing. I'll leave a bit of the exploration to you..

Lineup after the break.

Narrative Features Competition

Artois the Goat

Director: Kyle Bogart. Writer: Cliff and Kyle Bogart

Lab technician Virgil Gurdies embarks on an epic quest to craft the greatest...